The Last Keeper (19 page)

“There’s nothing to be concerned about,” I told her. “Last night was simply a complication, one that won’t happen again.”

My words came out harsher than I meant. I didn’t like being lied to, by anyone. But especially not by my family. I knew Laura as well as I knew myself. If there was something going on she didn’t want to tell me, then there was only one way to find out.
 

To break that same promise William and I had been discussing.

I hoped I’d never have to.

I was tempted.
 

But my issues were far greater than whatever secret Laura was hiding.

“I’m not worried about that. It’s this man you’ve found, Ray . . . What was his name?” she asked, more curious than anything else.

“
Willis.
Ray Willis.” I hadn’t given Ray’s last name out to anyone, and I wasn’t about to start.

“So you will be Mrs. Willis soon?”

“If you’re wondering about a wedding invitation, Laura, then you should know it will only be his family in attendance. You know why I cannot invite anyone else.” Tara was ready and I wanted to leave.
 

“Well, I was hoping.” I turned to see a small smile on her lips.

“Laura,” I sighed, “you know you’re family to me, flesh and blood family, but you also know that I cannot risk his life. The fewer people who know, the safer he’ll be—the safer we all will be.”

“I know. As I said, I was hoping.” She was still lying, but I needed to get home. I needed to see Ray again. That need overrode everything else.
 

“Take care of yourself.”

Without giving her a chance to answer, I mounted Tara and set off at a dead run. The sooner I got away from Lyon, the sooner I’d be home.
 

Elena and Kiros should’ve gone directly to London, unless they were camping out somewhere during the day. I’d known them to go for weeks without draining that last bit of life from a human, just so they could attempt to follow me during the daylight hours. Even then, they had to take precautions and avoid intense sunlight or they risked being turned to ash.

Normally they didn’t go to the effort of being able to venture out into the sun. Unless a vampire didn’t show up for their audience, or they had special cause, they simply stayed hidden during the day and drained the life of any human they wanted.
 

Even if they hadn’t gone to the trouble of fasting in order to lure me out, I still needed to take care.
 

It wasn’t worth risking Ray’s life. I would’ve loved for my encounter with Elena to come to blows, but William was right. I couldn’t turn up on my doorstep half dead. It would be all too easy for a vampire to follow me and find Ray.
 

I needed to protect those closest to me. Now more than ever.

All to prevent the ramblings of a dying woman from coming true.

When there were many of us, we were blessed with such a wide variety of gifts. Everything from my mother’s gift of physical protection, to my aunt’s gift of second sight.
 

It was when my aunt was dying, just over a thousand years after I was born, that she gave us three predictions. The first was a simple enough affair, if somewhat far-fetched: good among the vampire race. Someone born of blood that could change the darkest of souls.

Issac Baruti.

Barely six centuries old, he’d supposedly done just that.
 

If
the rumours were true.

The second of her final predictions had been the most haunting, the one that was on the verge of coming true. She saw us extinct, a single remaining Keeper fighting the inevitable. She saw us losing.

But it was the final prediction that had shocked us all, and made everyone think that there was no truth in her words. All the races were supposedly connected. A single family, so diverse that each of the races held a piece of the heart of the whole.
 

Impossible.
 

The five races could never be connected as such. Vampires hated everyone, as did the Weres. Witches hated humans, and humans didn’t know of any of us. And we were on the fringes, as always.

It was impossible.

It was after lunch, far too long after I’d left, that I arrived back at my home. Despite being overjoyed at the mere sight of the house, I took the precaution of checking the surrounding area. Just in case.

As soon as I was satisfied that it was safe, I rode as fast as possible until I reached the stables at the back of the house.
 

Sam was already there tending to Falcon. I barely stopped long enough to ask about Ray.

“Reading in your room,” he answered, laughing at my eagerness.

With a thank you so quickly spoken he couldn’t have heard it, I raced up to the house.

“You look a mess!” he called after me.

“I know!”

I shouted out a quick hello to Helen, who was in the kitchen, as I hurried past her. There was a hearty laugh from her, too. Neither of them had seen me so eager to be home before.
 

Taking the stairs two at a time, I was at the top barely a minute after dismounting Tara. Coming to a stop outside my door, I paused for a moment, not wanting to give Ray another fright by barging in.

When I opened the door, forcing myself to keep calm, I realised it didn’t matter. He was lying on my bed, sleeping peacefully, an open book splayed across his chest.
 

Sitting next to him as gently as I could manage, I smiled. He looked so peaceful when he slept. I ran my fingers over his cheek and through his hair, smiling more as his eyes fluttered open.

“Hello.”
 

“Serenity?” he asked, half asleep.

“I missed you.”
 

“I missed you, too.” His words came out mumbled as I pressed an almost urgent kiss against his lips.
 

We spent a few minutes lying together, enjoying each other’s company. It felt so unbelievably good to have him next to me again. The warmth of his body pressed against mine was everything I needed to help me forget my trip to Lyon.
 

   
Only certain things couldn’t be forgotten.
 

Something had plagued me as I rode in circles, crossing my own path too many times to count. Laura had blatantly lied to me, and if my suspicions about her motives were correct, then I couldn’t bear to face that possibility. Yet regardless of her lies, with Ray was where I needed to be.
 

I sighed. “We need to go downstairs.”
 

“We could just stay here,” he countered, pulling something from my hair. “Do you always come home looking like this?”

“No, which is why we need to talk to Helen.” I sat up.

“Should I be worried?”
 

“No.” I stopped, thinking about it for a moment. “At least, I don’t think so.”
 

Ray didn’t need to fret over what had happened; The Seats would never touch him.
 

Sam and Helen were already in the sitting room when Ray and I came down. Though they were smiling and chuckling softly at how delighted I’d been to be home, they were clearly worried. I was a little windswept. My hair was full of bits of twigs and leaves, making it look like something a bird might want to nest in for the summer. My clothes had seen fewer holes and frays, too, and I could’ve certainly used a bath.

“Tara will need resting for at least a week,” I informed Sam. “She has had a long few days.”

“She’s eating. Once I’ve groomed her, she’ll be able to rest for a while.”

“Thank you.”

“What went wrong?” Helen asked.
 

“Things turned out to be more complicated than I thought.”

“Who was it?”

“The London Seat.”
 

“Elena
and
Kiros?” Sam asked.
 

“Both of them, and another half-dozen vampires.”
 

“Do we need to move?”
 

When I turned to look at Helen, her eyes were wide and she was fidgeting nervously. “There’s no way they followed me here. I spent days riding around in circles through France. Had they, I would’ve known,” I reassured her. “But I will search for another house before the end of the year.”

“Are you sure you weren’t followed?” Helen asked, glancing at Ray.

“I’m sure. Also, the area around here is clear, just as it was at William’s.” I was about to continue, when Helen interrupted me.

“
William?
I thought you were doing this on your own?”

“It was a setup, Helen. They were waiting for
me.
Somehow they knew
I
would be the only one arriving. And they know about Alison. I had to warn him.” I heaved a deep sigh, plopping down in a seat next to Ray.

“Were you hurt?” he asked, gently.

“As power hungry as The Seats are, they don’t have a death wish.” I placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “They know better than to cross me. My temper is a lot shorter than it used to be.”

“You ran to see William?” Helen pressed, wanting answers.

“Yes. Woke him up at the crack of dawn, after spending the night doubling back on myself.” I chuckled at the memory of him half asleep. “Told him he should move. Took some persuading. Not that I blame him, considering . . .”

My pause hung in the air, thick with unspoken revelations.
 

“What are you not telling us, Serenity?”
 

“Everything? Are you sure you want to know how bad things are right now?”
 

It was rare that I was short-tempered with anyone, and especially my family, but the trip to France had taken a toll. Even being in Ray’s arms again helped only a little.

“He deserves to know.”
 

“I stayed at Laura’s house until nightfall. When I got to the village outside of Lyon, there were half a dozen vampires waiting for me, along with Kiros and Elena. They were talking about me, Helen. They knew I was the one coming to deal with them.”
 

I told her how I had entered the barn, spoken with Elena, and then left. I didn’t leave out the screams I heard as I ran.
 

“William is reluctant to move, and I don’t blame him. The doctors don’t think Alison will live through the birth of their child,” I whispered.

“He’s given up, hasn’t he?” Sam asked as he pulled Helen to him.

“Not quite, I don’t think. He’s taking them to a cabin he has until something more permanent can be arranged.” If I could have, I would’ve insisted he return with me, but separate was better.
 

“Can you not find out who’s giving them their information?” Ray was unfazed by my outburst.
 

“We’ve tried. For
years
we have tried. All we know is they keep receiving these letters with details in them. But when we trace them, we get nothing! The least they would have to know is our names and who had found their partners. With that alone The Seats could find us. But who knows that?” I sighed. “However, I think I have an idea of who it may be, but I won’t voice my opinions on the matter. If I’m wrong, then I’d rather be the only one to take the blame. If I’m right, then I don’t want to think of the consequences of their actions.”

“Serenity, you know I could help. I know the records almost as well as you do.”
 

“Not this time, Helen.”
 

“You know you cannot do this alone! I can give you an unbiased opinion.”
 

“
No!
There isn’t a single person among us who could give an unbiased opinion on this matter. Not this time, and certainly not my family.” There was no need to snap at her, but she needed to understand. I couldn’t ask my family, not when I thought they were the ones responsible.
 

Everyone fell silent. The air was thick with tension. “Forgive me, Helen. These past few days have been a little much.”
 

“Nothing to forgive, but I think you should tell him about Lona.” Helen’s smile was sad as she spoke.

“Thank you, and yes, I suppose it’s time I told you that story.” I turned to Ray.

“We can leave this for another day if you like.”
 

“No, I need to tell you this.” It was something I’d been meaning to tell him. There never was a good time to detail how someone had been murdered. “You know I had a sister once, she was named Lona. We were identical twins; the first twins to be born in our race. We looked the same in every way: red hair, green eyes, average build, but we were opposites in every other.”

“You forgot beautiful.” He smirked.

“Behave.” I offered him a small smile as I playfully chastised him. “As I was saying, she was fourteen when she reached maturity, whilst I waited until I was twenty. She was so volatile, and I was always calm and collected. Even our gifts were opposites, though I have no idea what either does. Hers was Death, where I supposedly hold Life.”

My story wasn’t one I told often, not outside of the prettied-up version held in the book I read to Jayne.